Register of Deeds

Roberta Nichols - Register of Deeds

Welcome to the Brown County Register of Deeds’ office. The Register of Deeds’s office is the primary records office of the county, and is also one of the departments that generates revenue for the county from filing and recording fees, transfer and copy fees, and vital record fees.

Many important land records (such as plats, deeds, mortgages, covenants and restrictions, easements, satisfactions, etc.), as well as military discharge records, mechanics liens, county, state and federal tax liens, county aid liens, UCC filings, and other documents, are recorded and maintained with the Register of Deeds. In addition to document recordation, the Register of Deeds issues South Dakota birth, marriage and death certificates, as well as marriage licenses.

The Register of Deeds office works closely with the public, as well as other governmental municipalities, planning and zoning offices, land title companies, banks and other financial institutions, land surveyors, real estate businesses; and various state departments and agencies, including, but not limited to, the South Dakota Secretary of State’s office, the South Dakota Department of Health, the South Dakota Department of Revenue, and the South Dakota Department of Transportation.

Many of the records held at the Brown County Register of Deeds’s office date back to the 1870’s, or earlier, and provide a wealth of information for those persons wanting to research or trace area history.